Dividers



March 27, 1928. 1,663,855

J. L. OCONNOR IDERs Filed Oct. 8. 1926 BY M ' ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

1.]NITED STAT-ES JOHN LAWRENCE ocormon, or PORTLAND, EMAIN DI-VIDERS.

Application filcd'october 8; 1926. .Serial :No. 140,302.

. An object ofthe present invention is to ::provide a pair of dividers so constructed that they are capable of convenient-and rapid :manipulation .:for purposes of adjustment 5with :one hand, and are thereby rendered peculiarly suitable qforthe use of workmen. .A further object of the invention is to .provide a pair of dividers so constructed :that a full length :pencil may be mounted therein, and when worn down so that only gas nall stub is left, will be still securely {retained :in position.

Other objects of the invention are to pro- .vide a device of this character which will be=;o'f simple, practical construction, rugged ianchdurable in use, neat and attractive in Fig. 1 is a view mainly in side elevation I I of a pair of dlviders embodying the present invention, with a portion of one leg broken away and in section for the sake of clearness.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional detail on the line 4 iof Fig. 2.

In the drawings I have used the numerals 10 and 11 to designate the two pivoted legs of the divider. These legs are connected together at their upper ends in a substantially conventional manner by a pivot stud or screw 12. The upper portion of each leg is angularly oflset from the lower portion thereof so that when the dividers are in approximately closed position as shown in Fig. 1, the upper ends of the legs 10 and 11 will converge toward the pivot and the lower ends of the legs their free ends.

As is customary in the art, the leg 10 is shorter than the leg 11, and is adapted to have its length supplemented by the attachment of a suitable marking device, such for instance as the lead pencil 13.

will converge toward to be described. illustrated includes a collar 15encirclingthe Preferably the upper and lower portions of each of the legs while offset ;relatively to each other are individually straight, so

that the pencil 18 may be retained snugly in position within a shallow grooved in the outer face of the leg 10 by means about The vmeans which I :have

pencil 13 and a threaded stud 16 carried by 'the collar and passed through the leg 10. 'At the inside of this leg ,the screwqis engaged by a clamping nut 17. By tightening the nut 17 it will be understoodthatthe collar 15 is drawnin'to a recess lscommunieating with the groove -14c, and actsto .dmw the pencil tightly against ,thebottom of the .groove.

tively short stub by usa'ge, the stub end may stillbeifirmly clampedby the collar .15and its associated-nutl17. p

The lower .or freeend of leg 1.1 is .p oi nted at 19 or may carrya conventional ,penetrat ing pin or point, this point serving as a center about which the sharpened end 20 of the pencil 13 may be swung.

An arcuate sector bar 21 struck on a curve of which the pivot 12 is the center is an- I chored to the leg 10 and accommodated in a slot 22 in the leg 11 of the dividers. Bar 21 may have a reduced threaded end 23 passed provided a cam latch member 27 pivoted at 28 in the slot 22 and formed with a cam face 29 adapted to engage the arcuate bar 21.

A torsional spring 30 includes a pair of legs 31 and32, the former of which is an chored at 33 in the slot 22, and the latter of which bears against the tail end of the cam latch 27 and urges it into clamping re lation with the bar 21.

It will be noticed that the tail of the latch projects laterally from the outer surface of the arm 11 and may be conveniently manually pressed inwardly against the action of spring 30 when it becomes desirable to release the bar 21 and permit comparatively The construction above described permits convenient operation of the device with one hand. Leg 11 is preferably grasped with the thumb and forefinger in such a manner that the thumb may be used for depressing the tail piece of the cam latch. This willleave the other three fingers of the hand free to swing the leg 10 in either direction for purposes of adjustment.

While I have illustrated one of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that various changes and alterations might be made in the general form and arrangement of parts described without departing from the invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself to the details set forth, but shall'consider myself at liberty to make such changes and altera- .tions as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Although in the specification and claims I v have referred to the tool of the present invention simply as a divider, it is to be understoodthat the term divider is meant to be broad enough to cover calipers and other tools or instruments having the same generally similar construction and function.

I claim:

1. A pair of dividers including pivotally connected legs of different lengths, the free end of each leg being angularly offset with respect to the pivoted end thereof, and the longer leg being pointed, means for clamping a marking implement against the outer face of the free end of the shorter leg, said leg section having a groove in its outer face to receive the marking implement, said clamping means including a ring encircling the marking implement and a screw working through said shorter leg for adjusting the ring laterally to move the marking imple ment against'the bottom of the groove.

2. A pair of dividers including pivotally connected legs, a sector bar carried by one leg and working through a slot in the other leg, and spring latching means carried by said last mentioned leg engaging the bar to retain the legs in any position of pivotal ad justment, said latching means including a. pivoted cam member mounted in said slot in the leg and a spring in the slot forrocking the cam member into binding engagev ment with the bar. 1

3. A pair of dividers including pivotally connected legs, a sector bar carried by one leg and working through aslot in the other leg, and spring'latching means carried by said last mentioned leg engaging the bar to retain the legs in any position of pivotal adjustment, said latching means including a pivoted cam member mounted in said slot 

